Many of Smart’s former HR employees at Accenture have gone on to hold CHRO and CPO roles at companies like PepsiCo and McKesson.

The sexist attitudes Gina Hartigan faced taking a career break to raise her family didn’t stop her from finding her place as Kantata’s CPO.

Of the top 10 companies where current CHROs and CPOs worked prior to holding the top role, four—including Accenture—are consulting firms.

HR Brew examined the educational and professional histories of more than 16,400 HR chiefs.

Learn how current and former HR executives reached the C-suite with help from mentors, on-the-job training, and exposure to the business.

After years spent leading HR teams, Cindy Gordon found that consulting and fractional roles were a better way for her to impact the people function.

Joji Sekhon Gill, who now serves as CHRO of the semiconductor manufacturing firm, says the transition was so smooth it has informed how she plans to approach succession planning.

Karan Ferrell-Rhodes spent decades climbing the corporate ladder before jumping ship to start her own HR consultancy.

“You have to give people in the organization the opportunity to envision that potential successor in the job,” Marsili tells HR Brew.

Understanding the ins and outs of how a company operates is consistently cited as a quality that gives top HR leaders an edge.